It Hurts Here
When I saw the human fountain I nearly threw up. Apparently three detectives had fainted and one was refusing to enter the courtyard because of the horror. I’ve seen a lot of things in my life, terrible things, but the human fountain was by far the worse. It looked like one of those European fountains where the water poured from the mouths of gods and goddesses. But these were not gods. They were corpses. The three of them were posed in different positions. A hose had been inserted into their rectums and the water was passed through their bodies, leaking out of the mouths, eyes, and noses. The corpses were fresh enough that the skin remained mostly intact. My partner, Flint, waved away a bird that was picking at the forehead of one of the victims. Flint stepped right into the scene, getting a closer look. She was not the type to get queasy even in horrific instances. “It doesn’t make sense,” she said, looking at hose. “What doesn’t make sense?” She was much smarter than me in terms of academic knowledge. She had three PHDs and a medical degree. All of this and she was so young. I was pushing forty and all of my training came from working the streets. Our bosses thought we’d be good together. Compliment each other. Flint knelt down. “Water should not be able to pass through a body in this way.” “Well, we’re just flesh tubes, right?” Flint didn’t laugh. She never did. “No. There is a part of the body called the ileocecal valve. It separates the small and large intestines. It should keep the water from going into the body.” She stood, wiping her hands on her knees. “I would wager that these three individuals had their ileocecal valves removed before the hose was inserted.” I cringed at the whole thing. It smelled horrible. I was used to dead bodies but not ones used for decoration. “Flint, why would someone remove the…whatever valve.” “Some bowel disorders require it to be removed. It is also possible that the suspect removed it, although it would be hard to tell. That would require the suspect to have surgical and medical knowledge.” She sniffed in disgust. “This suspect seems more interested in pageantry than surgery.” I shrugged. We would not get many answers until the structure was dismantled and the bodies were examined. I eyed the scene one more time and noticed something odd. “Hey Flint, do they all have the same tattoo or am I going crazy?” She cocked her head. “Yes. The small arrow.” I backed up. Each victim had an arrow tattooed on their skin. One was on the foot, one on the hip, and the last on the finger. I frowned. “They are all pointing the same way.” Flint and I turned our heads to the left, where a small grouping of shrubs were. I walked over, Flint behind me. In the shrubs was a something shaped like a box with a scarf over it. I looked back at Flint, who nodded. I swiped the scarf off quickly which revealed a dog crate no more than three feet high. Stuffed inside was a child, holding her knees to her chest. I scrambled to open the crate and took the girl in my arms. She was silent but wrapped her hands around me. “It’s okay honey, we’re here to help.” I turned around to face Flint. Her face was emotionless. “Flint?” I stepped out of the shrubs and Flint blinked. “She’s okay, Flint.” “Who is she?” Flint asked. “I don’t know.” “Really look at her. Who is she?” I looked at the girl but I didn’t recognize her. “Do you know her, Flint?” “Ask her name.” Flint sounded almost like a computer. The girl looked up at me. Her eyes were a bright hazel. “What is your name, sweetie?” I tried to look as calm as possible, despite the tense situation. “Tara,” she said in a low voice. Flint was unmoved. “Tara what?” “Tara Flint,” she replied. I looked back at Flint who was gone. “Flint?” I called out, but nothing responded. The girl in my arms snuggled in closer. “She won’t come back,” she whispered. “Do you know her?” I wanted to drop the girl to the ground, but her fingernails dug into my skin. “Yes. And you do too.” “What are you saying?” She smiled. “I’m number 76. I’m assuming that was number 13 or 23.” I took a deep breath. “Tara, I think you’ve been through something horrible. We are going to get you help but I need you to let go.” She shook her head in disappointment and crawled out of my grasp. “You always say that. Every time you find one of us you say you’re going to help us. But you never do. And they’ll keep making more of us until they find the perfect recipe. Storing us at crime scenes for you to find. Partnering you with us. Do you know why?” I couldn’t talk. Memories were slowly coming back. Little girls in crates, all the same. Not scared, not surprised. Low voices. Partner after partner. It’s always Flint. Flint. So familiar. “It’s because you’re in the simulation too.” My breath came faster and I looked around. The girl was gone. Slowly I touched my hands to my head. I could feel a helmet. I pulled on it until it came off. The world went black. Then suddenly a white light accosted me and I heard something ticking. “Very good, #0156. You noticed the clues within 20 minutes. You still failed to recognize the girl though.” I blinked and realized I was in a lab of some sort. A woman stood in front of me, her face blank. She checked something off a sheet in her hands. “Where am I?” My voice sounded different. Lighter. “Don’t worry, you’ll go back to your life soon enough.” She walked to an intercom on the wall. “Dr. Wrom, shall I reward her results?” A voice echoed in the room. “Ten seconds.” A small hole opened in the floor. Inside was a girl. My girl. “Tara,” I cried, struggling to reach her. The little girl reached up and I could touch her fingers. “Did you recognize me yet, mama?” “Not yet. But I will soon. I promise.” Her fingers felt so good. I started to sob. “Please remember. It hurts here.” The hole began to close and she was gone again. I stared at the intercom as though it were a person. “Again. Do it again.” “The next scene will be worse than the last,” Dr. Wrom replied through the computerized voice. “I don’t care.” The woman in the white jacket sat me back down and put the helmet of wires back on my head. “See you soon,” she said, before pressing the on button.